汉英翻译15 Sir William Jones的《诗经》译文赏析
2014-06-08 19:42阅读：
Sir William Jones的《诗经》译文
A Chinese Ode
Translated by Sir William Jones (1799)
Behold yon reach of the River
KI;
Its green reeds, how luxuriant,
how luxuriant!
Thus is our Prince adorned with
virtues;
As a carver, as a filer,
of ivory,
As a cutter, as a polisher,
of gems.
O how elate, how sagacious!
O how dauntless and composed!
How worthy of fame!
How worthy of reverence!
We have a Prince adorned with
virtues,
Whom to the end of time
we can not forget.
这是《淇奥》中的第一阙，全诗如下：
瞻彼淇奥，
绿竹猗猗。
有匪君子，
如切如磋，
如琢如磨。
瑟兮僩兮，
赫兮咺兮。
有匪君子，
终不可谖兮。
瞻彼淇奥，
绿竹青青。
有匪君子，
充耳琇莹，
会弁如星。
瑟兮僩兮，
赫兮咺兮。
有匪君子，
终不可谖兮。
瞻彼淇奥，
绿竹如箦。
有匪君子，
如金如锡，
如圭如璧。
宽兮绰兮，
猗重较兮。
善戏谑兮，
不为虐兮。
A Chinese Ode
Paraphrased by Sir William Jones (1799)
Behold, where yon blue riv'let
glides
Along the laughing dale;
Light reeds bedeck its verdant
sides,
And frolic in the gale.
So shines our Prince!
In bright array The Virtues around
him wait;
And sweetly smil’d th’ auspicious
day,
That rais’d Him o’er our State.
As pliant hands in shapes
refin’d
Rich iv’ry carve and smoothe,
His laws thus mold each ductile
mind,
And every passion soothe.
As gems are taught by patient
art
In sparkling ranks to beam,
With manners thus he forms the
heart,
And spreads a gen’ral gleam.
What soft, yet aweful, dignity!
What meek, yet manly grace!
What sweetness dances in his
eye,
And blossoms in his face!
So shines our Prince!
A sky-born crowd
Of Virtues around him blaze:
Ne’er shall Oblivision’s murky
cloud
Obscure his deathless praise.
(Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations
(eds.)John Minford，Joseph S. M. Lau. Columbia University Press and
the Chinese University of Hongkong.2000 )
Translation by Zhao Yanchun:
Where the river swirls past,
The bamboos their shade cast.
The lord stands there refined,
Like ivory polished,
Like precious stone finished. '
Lo, he’s solemn and grave;
Lo, he’s open and brave.
The lord stands there refined;
We will bear him in mind!
Where the river swirls past,
The bamboos attract a blast.
The lord stands there refined,
Wearing ruby garnished,
Wearing saphire varnished.
Lo, he’s solemn and grave;
Lo, he’s open and brave.
The lord stands there refined;
We will bear him in mind!
Where the river swirls past
The bamboos cluster fast.
The lord stands there refined,
Like gold or gem well-made,
Like pearl or jade inlaid.
Lo, he’s gentle and bland
Lo, he does by cart stand.
He laughs, to fun inclined,
But has always been kind.
赏析：整首诗读下来很流畅，句式使用的较为灵活，比如使用了倒装，定语前置等句式。所以，想必作为英诗来说是很不错的。然而我们首先要考虑的是，它毕竟是篇译文，译文就应该起到将源语最大限度的贴切地转述的作用，而此篇诗却有好几处将原诗理解错了，因此应该报以批判学习的态度。比如说“如切如磋，如琢如磨”是说王子的品格就如反复打磨的碧玉一般，但在译文中，作者将其翻译成了“Carver，cutter”等。或许作者是出于具象化或者拟人化的考虑，但是这样一翻，就是将王子比喻成了“雕刻匠”，意义便大相径庭了。在翻译中根据自己的理解，进一步进行文学加工更有利于表达，但改变太多的话就会使原文的意味失去。而相对而言，赵老师的翻译就更贴合原文，同时又能将形式也很好保存下来，这是我们在翻译学习中应该放在第一要义的东西。
感悟：常说翻译讲究三要义“信、达、雅”，但是何为第一要义呢？在我看来，应该把“信”放在第一位。忠实原文方可叫做翻译，不然，出入太大，干脆叫做创作了。同时也是对原作者的不尊重。能够更像英诗当然更好，不过切不可本末倒置。另外，如何更像英文，我又有了更深的体会。正如钱钟书先生说过的，中文就像是一个个豆腐块，就那么摆成一排，或是顶多用丝线串起来。而英语就要把这些豆腐块按照结构垒起来，成为一体。因此，像诗中很多意象直接摆在一起的，就应该将其重新堆砌起来。希望以后翻译中在这点能做到更好。
